The cooking utensils were easily visible inside the snake as it slithered uncomfortably around its cage (Image: University of Adelaide)

After taking a look at the stuffed animal , the vet decided that surgery was the only option.

He told 891 ABC Adelaide: "Aaron said the snake had swallowed some tongs and initially I was imagining some small forceps or tweezers or something like that.

"When he arrived, the snake was in a box and I said, 'Are you sure he swallowed the tongs?' and Aaron just laughed because when you opened the box it was obvious what the problem was.

"You could basically see the shape of the tongs, and there's a small clip that you slide forward to lock them and you could actually see the outline of that through the snake. You could even see the bumps on the end of the tongs."